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This taped theatrical adaptation of H.G. Wells's classic fictional pondering on the nature of humans is aimed at mature kids. The play's themes of animal experimentation, transplantation, and related subjects are discussed explicitly in the 113-minute video's introduction and conclusion. Wells's
1896 novel came on the heels of Darwin's Theory of Evolution and deals with the arrival of shipwrecked biologist Edward Prendick to the remote island laboratory of Dr. Moreau. Through grafting and other undisclosed methods, the exiled scientist has turned animals into humanesque creatures. Of course, the humanimals eventually revert to their basic nature and turn on their creator. By necessity, much of Sean Gaffney's adaptation is somewhat static, as it relies on soliloquies to relate the novel's ideas. While Nolan Palmer (Moreau) seems to relish his soliloquies, Joshua Bott (Prendick) tends to rush through his. The play is capped off by a postmortem with Bott and a trip to Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo to spot the differences--and similarities--between animals and humankind.
--Kimberly Heinrichs
